South Hill man gets 18 years for killing friend with skillets, golf club

Two days after leading detectives to the remains of his childhood friend, South Hill resident Michael Breer admitted in court Thursday to beating Justin Morris to death with two iron skillets and a golf club after a dispute of some kind in 2013.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Jack Nevin handed down a high-end sentence of 18 years, four months in prison after Breer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

“Whatever the circumstances, this young man did not deserve to die,” Nevin said as a courtroom packed with Morris’ family and friends looked on.

It was an abrupt ending for a case that had dragged on for nearly two years.

Sheriff’s detectives began investigating in July 2013 after a friend of Breer’s called 911 to say Breer had told him he’d killed Morris, 18, and needed help disposing of the body.

Investigators went to Breer’s home, where Morris had been living temporarily, and found evidence of a violent and bloody encounter, but no body.

Breer later said “something” happened after Morris came at him with a knife, but he declined to provide further details about what precipitated the attack.

Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder and several counts of possession of child pornography after detectives found sexual photographs on his phone. The child-porn counts were dropped as part of the plea deal.

Breer’s lawyer, Leslie Tolzin, said Thursday the photos were not child porn.

The case was to go to trial this week, but Breer decided to make a plea deal with prosecutors: He’d show detectives where he hid Morris’ body in exchange for a reduced murder charge.